Yun Si abruptly sat up, half-leaning against the soft pillow, gasping for breath.
Her body still retained the lingering sensations from the dream.
Yun Si was so ashamed and furious she wished she could die—how could she have such a dream!
For an unmarried maiden to have a sensual dream was already mortifying enough. Not to mention, the man in the dream wasn’t her fiancé but a complete stranger she didn’t recognize at all!
Although Yun Si never saw the man’s face clearly from start to finish, she knew very few men outside her family. A man with such a perfect physique and an overwhelming, aggressive presence—Yun Si was certain she had never met him!
She had actually done such things with a complete stranger in her dream…
What made it even more unbearable for Yun Si was that she hadn’t resisted in the slightest in the dream. Instead, she had thoroughly enjoyed it, and the sensation of pleasure had even lingered beyond the dream.
Yun Si tightly clutched the silk brocade quilt on the bed, her already fair fingers turning pale at the knuckles. The quilt was crumpled under her grip, but Yun Si was oblivious. With tears in her eyes, she looked down at her own body, feeling for the first time that it was utterly unfamiliar.
They say that what one thinks about during the day appears in dreams at night, but she had never entertained such improper thoughts during the day. Why, then, had this happened?
Lu Ya, who was on night duty, was awakened by Yun Si’s movements and softly asked, “Miss, would you like some water?”
Hearing Lu Ya get up, Yun Si was startled.
Even without looking in a mirror, she could guess what she must look like. Her entire body felt burning hot, especially her cheeks and ears, which were surely flushed crimson.
Her eyes were sore and swollen, brimming with tears, a single teardrop hanging precariously at the corner of her eye. Yun Si reached out and gently wiped it away. Her cool fingertips touched her burning eye corner, and she knew even her eyes were thoroughly red.
The loosely tied bun she had worn before bed had long since come undone. Strands of hair fell messily over her shoulders, and a few locks, dampened by a light sweat, clung disorderly to her slender, pale neck.
She absolutely could not let Lu Ya see her in this state.
Panicked, Yun Si said, “I don’t want water. Don’t come over!”
Hearing her own voice, Yun Si bit her lip tightly. She had never known she could sound like this—slightly hoarse, with a hint of languor… a tone so shy and delicate that anyone hearing it would inevitably imagine what she had been doing just moments before…
Lu Ya must have noticed something was off, right?
Yun Si gripped the quilt tightly, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of her throat.
Fortunately, Lu Ya was still half-asleep and didn’t catch the strangeness in Yun Si’s voice. Hearing that Yun Si didn’t want water, she asked again, “Does Miss need to use the chamber pot? I’ll light the lamp for you…”
“No! Don’t light the lamp!” Yun Si blurted out.
If the lamp were lit, her shameful appearance would be impossible to hide.
Yun Si’s voice was too urgent, and Lu Ya finally noticed something was wrong. She asked curiously, “Miss, what’s the matter?”
Yun Si took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down in the darkness, her tone returning to normal. “It’s nothing. I just woke up in the middle of the night. I don’t want water, and I don’t need to use the chamber pot.”
“Ah…” Yun Si pretended to yawn. “I’m sleepy. I’m going back to sleep. You should sleep too.”
Lu Ya was fooled and lay back down on the small couch beside Yun Si’s bed. “Then call me if you need anything, Miss…”
After a while, Yun Si heard Lu Ya’s breathing become even and gentle in the darkness, and she softly let out a sigh of relief.
That was close… Lu Ya had almost lit the lamp…
Fortunately, it was the lively Lu Ya on night duty today. If it had been the meticulous Bai Hao or the cautious Yinzhen, Yun Si would never have been able to deceive them just now.
Inside the bed curtains, Yun Si carefully combed through her disheveled dark hair with her fingers and straightened her clothes.
She lifted the brocade quilt, allowing the cool summer night breeze to slowly cool her feverish body. After carefully checking to ensure nothing was amiss, she closed her eyes and gradually drifted off to sleep.
For the rest of the night, Yun Si slept fitfully. She was terrified of having such an absurd dream again. Each time she was about to fall into deep sleep, she would instinctively startle awake.
In the morning, when the maids entered to help her wash and dress, they were all startled by Yun Si’s appearance.
Beneath her eyes were faint dark circles.
Against her porcelain-like skin, they stood out prominently.
“Did the young lady not sleep well last night?” Yinzhen asked, her eyes filled with teasing laughter.
Yun Si blushed. She knew Yinzhen was teasing her about being shy over her upcoming marriage. All the maids in the room thought the same, but only Yun Si herself knew that the reason for her sleeplessness was not so simple…
After washing up, Bai Hao opened the eight-treasure makeup box and said softly, “We’ll need to apply some powder to the young lady’s face today to cover it up.”
Yun Si never used powder in her daily makeup—the finest powder could not compare to her skin, which was as fair and tender as peeled lychee. Applying powder would only dull her natural beauty.
Now, to conceal the faint dark circles under her eyes, Bai Hao carefully dusted a layer of powder beneath them. To balance it out, she also applied a thin layer of powder to the rest of Yun Si’s face.
Today was the betrothal ceremony, where Yun Si would not only meet her fiancé, Xie Changze, but also her future mother-in-law, Princess Rui. Bai Hao applied a dignified and elegant light makeup for Yun Si.
Once the makeup was done, all the maids in the room looked at her with admiration.
Yinzhen teased, “When the young prince Xie sees the young lady later, he won’t be able to take his eyes off her!”
“Yinzhen!” Yun Si softly scolded.
Yinzhen quickly covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, young lady.”
The maids in the room all laughed. Yun Si knew they all thought she was shy, but her feelings were far more complicated than that…
Hearing Yinzhen mention Xie Changze, Yun Si felt both ashamed and fearful.
She was ashamed because, as her cousin’s fiancée, she had dreamed of being intimate with another man—something she truly should not have done.
She was fearful because, having just had such a dream a few hours ago, she was about to meet her cousin and aunt. Yun Si was deeply afraid they would notice something amiss.
When her mother sent someone to summon her, Yun Si nervously made her way to the front hall. Her aunt and cousin were already there, and Yun Si bowed to them in turn.
When bowing to her cousin, Yun Si dared not look directly at him. She kept her eyes lowered, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
Fortunately, today, all her unusual behavior could be explained away as shyness.
Having just received the Empress Dowager’s decree for the marriage, and meeting her cousin—whom she hadn’t seen in five years—as her fiancé, it was only natural for her to be bashful.
Her cousin, always proper, also avoided looking directly at Yun Si, but she still clearly saw the unmistakable admiration in his eyes.
Her aunt, who had always doted on her, was overjoyed to see her shy demeanor today. Yun Si quickly realized that her aunt had always favored dignified and modest young ladies. The shyer she appeared today, the more it pleased her aunt.
Perhaps her aunt, seeing her so shy, thought she had feelings for her cousin, which only added to her aunt’s joy.
Although it was Yun Si’s engagement, there was little for her to do during the betrothal ceremony.
Yun Si simply had to sit gracefully to the side, wearing a gentle and serene smile.
She was grateful that she didn’t have to say or do much today, otherwise her distracted state of mind would surely have been noticed.
According to ancient customs, on the day of the betrothal ceremony, the groom’s family must present a wild goose to the bride’s family as a symbol of unwavering devotion.
Prince Rui’s Mansion not only sent a live goose but also a jade carving of a goose made from a single piece of white jade.
Such a large, flawless piece of white jade, smooth and translucent as ice, was a rare treasure even within the prince’s mansion, enough to show how much Prince Rui’s Mansion valued this marriage.
Following the live goose and the jade goose was a long procession of gifts, each one rare and precious.
The betrothal ceremony was only the first of the six rites, yet Prince Rui’s Mansion had already sent so many gifts, demonstrating their sincerity.
The groom’s family was sincere, the bride’s family was satisfied, and smiles graced the faces of both families.
Xie Changze was a gentleman of upright demeanor, but Yun Si was now his fiancée, and his fiancée was more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen, like a lotus emerging from clear water, gently swaying in the breeze.
Xie Changze stole a glance, then another…
While Xie Changze was stealing glances at Yun Si, Yun Si couldn’t help but secretly observe her cousin as well.
After years apart, her cousin had grown much taller, transforming from a tender youth into a handsome young man. He was dignified, elegant, and strikingly handsome.
If he were to ride through the streets on horseback, who knew how many young women’s hearts he would capture.
As Yun Si looked at her cousin, she couldn’t help but compare him to the man from her dream. In comparison, her cousin’s legs seemed two inches shorter, his shoulders narrower, and his waist slightly broader.
Of course, this wasn’t her cousin’s fault—his figure was already exceptional. It was just that the man in her dream had legs that were too long, a waist that was too slender, and a physique as if meticulously carved…
Princess Rui watched the young pair before her, stealing glances at each other. The young thought they were being discreet, but they couldn’t fool the eyes of those who had been through it all before.
Princess Rui smiled happily and said, “They truly are a match made in heaven, a perfect pair.”
Hearing her aunt’s words, Yun Si suddenly snapped back to reality.
What… what had she just been doing?
All the color drained from Yun Si’s face, leaving it deathly pale.
How could she compare her fiancé to that wild man from her dream!